Welcome to the slightly twisted world of author Eric Mays. Here you will find all things relevant to the written word - updates on new books and book reviews, "The Author Speaks" series, and exclusive content (inlcuding previously unreleased stories and fiction).
Eric Mays encourages fans (and enemies, alike) to email him at ericm@witty.com.
To read Eric's book, "Naked Metamorphosis", please visit: http://tinyurl.com/y2jlcxo

Friday, September 25, 2009

Title Agreed Upon?

Some of you know that we've been having trouble with the title of this particular piece. Now, when I birthed this brain baby...I was pretty set on taking a Gregory Maguire-esque approach (i.e.: WICKED, CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER, et al). So, initially, this was entitled ROTTEN SOMETHINGS IN THE STATE OF DENMARK. That was then shortened to ROTTEN SOMETHINGS, and then SOMETHING ROTTEN. Trouble was, though, none of these really prompted people to want to pick up the book (when asked if they would).So, we went back to the drawing board. When it was submitted it was entitled HAMLET: THE COLLEGE YEARS. Kevin, my editor, quickly pointed out that there was recently a HAMLET 2, and this might get confusing. I wanted to ride the coattails of that funny film, but Kevin had a point.Back to the drawing board once more. Ugh! I understand why there are some urban kids named things like Viagra, and Levitra, and Allegra. Shit! If I'd pushed the kid out and couldn't come up with a name, you're damn straight that kid's getting named after a product.Kevin and I had lists going of possible titles. Some were good: KAFKA'S HAMLET BOOK REPORT, COCKROACH NUNNERY, ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE...and too many more to remember.Some were not so good, like: THE VERMIN OF ELSINORE (sounds like somebody played too much D&D).It's less than a month from release and what on earth could this thing be called. Well, I'm pleased to announce that my brain baby will not succumb to lazy names like BONIVIA or CIALIS or LEMONJELLO. At present, we're 99.9999% sure it will be NAKED METAMORPHOSIS. Your thoughts?Mark your calendars - it's coming...

3 comments:

My friend Dave swears he met a woman in Milwaukee who'd recently named her baby, Placentia.

I like NAKED METAMORPHOSIS. Funny that we both went for ROTTEN as part of our titles. Mine didn't start out anywhere near that. I went through the same thing with Kevin. (With help from Jeff, Cameron, Angie, Carlton, Gina, my wife...)

Anyway, I like the new title. Anything with "NAKED" in it should sell fabulously.

About Me

I'm a writer and lover of the printed word. I've always loved the feel and smell of bound paper, especially when accompanied by a solid story or outstanding educational merit. I write for you, so I hope you enjoy my stories. I suggest books for you, so that you can spend more time reading and less time searching.
Eric Mays is the author of "Naked Metamorphosis", which can be purchased wherever books are sold.